Cornflower Blue
by Allekha
Summary: Mina passes a hot, sleepless night with Annie, and sees her warm a little.


A/N: Written for EvilMuffins for Chocolate Box 2016.

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It was the peak of summer, and this week it had been especially hot, humid, and still. More than one trainee had worked into dehydration or heatstroke, and even those that hadn't were left plain miserable. Sleeping became an impossible chore, and it really only happened when they started to reach the limits of exhaustion.

Thus, when Mina noticed Annie getting up in the middle of the night, she poked her head off the side of her overly-warm bed and whispered, "Going for a walk?" Annie barely glanced at her as she nodded. "Do you mind if I come?" It wasn't like she was going to fall asleep before dawn at this rate – even laying sprawled out on her covers, her sweat-soaked hair braided up off her neck, she was only falling into the strange tired-but-rested state that could just barely get her though the day.

Another not-a-glance, another small nod. Mina slid off her mattress and hastily pulled on her clothes before following Annie out, not bothering with shoes. Outside was barely better than inside, but at least the air was fresher, and the ground felt good under her feet. Mina had no idea where Annie was heading, but it didn't really matter as long as they went somewhere, so she was content not to ask and simply trailed along beside her.

They ended up stopping on a hillside overlooking water, where the grass was soft and damp, and the slope was just steep enough to make sitting a little uncomfortable. Mina sighed as they lowered themselves to the ground, reveling in the cooler air coming off the water – it wasn't quite a breeze, but it felt wonderful. She flapped the front of her shirt a few times to encourage the chill under it, and considered taking the garment off altogether. But she wasn't wearing anything under it – though Annie was a girl too, did it really matter – well, it was okay like this.

Annie was staring at nothing, as far as Mina could tell. She didn't seem to be quite as relieved by the coolness, but then, she didn't seem to be bothered by the heat as much as everyone else was. When Mina had complained about it at breakfast, Annie had said it wasn't that bad.

Once again, Mina had been the one to start that conversation. She liked to think that she and Annie were friends, but it would be nice to see Annie reaching out a little, for once. Mina had started sitting with her during meals mostly because she'd felt sorry for the girl who kept sitting alone, and had turned out that Annie wasn't unfriendly, just... shy. And they sat together during lessons, but there wasn't much room for speaking, then. But, Mina was sure, Annie was just uncomfortable being away from home, or maybe she just wasn't used to making friends. It was just a matter of time.

Mina shook her hair out of its braid to feel the air on her scalp, left it to fall around her shoulders without a second hairband to make her usual pigtails. Beside her, Annie shifted position, pulling one leg in and putting the other out. Mina glanced at her, wanting to say something. The silence was starting to become heavy rather than comfortable.

She glanced around, seeking inspiration, and her gaze fell on one of the cornflowers that dotted the grass. It brought back memories, and smiling, she tapped Annie on the shoulder. "Hey, when's your birthday?"

Annie slowly turned to look at her. "March 22nd. Why?"

"I was just thinking, I know I probably can't get you anything for your birthday, but it would be nice to do _something_. March is good, there should be some flowers out then!"

"What do flowers have to do with..."

"Well, when it was my birthday, or my dad's, or some other special occasion, my mom always liked to do something with flowers. When I was really little, she apparently made me crowns, but when I was older, she mostly turned them into decorations for whatever we were having for dinner. Candied violets, and so on. Or she would pick a bunch and arrange them everywhere." On an impulse, she reached out and started to pick the cornflowers, scrambling around a little bit to get enough of them while Annie watched.

Soon she returned to where she had been sitting before, a pretty bunch of flowers in her hand. "I don't know what blooms in March," she continued, "but there has to be _something_ , and there's a lot of options. See, you can do this, for example–" She dumped most of the flowers into her lap and started braiding them, holding up her hands a little so Annie could see better.

They were rather smaller than the big wildflowers that Mina had used as a small child, and she didn't have _that_ many of them, so it didn't end up nearly big enough for a crown. That was fine, though. She gestured for Annie's arm, and on receiving a confused look and Annie's compliance, wrapped the chain around Annie's wrist and tucked the ends in. There! She clapped her hands when she was done.

"They don't quite match your eyes, but I think it still suits you," she said.

Annie inspected her new bracelet, turning her wrist back and forth. "Thank you," she eventually said, her face softened. Mina beamed, and cheerfully stood when Annie glanced at the sky and suggested that they return.

Cooled off from her adventure, Mina was finally able to fall asleep, if only for a few hours. When she stumbled yawning into breakfast, she plonked into the seat across from Annie like she did most days. There were two things that made her smile that morning, and the first was that as she tore into her bread, she noticed Annie was still wearing the cornflower bracelet. It was tucked under the hum of her sleeve a little, not too noticeable, and of course the petals had faded a bit overnight, but it was still there.

The second was that after they had said their good-mornings, it was Annie who made a comment on their scheduled lesson, before Mina had said another word.


End file.
